Letter to the Editor

February 16, 2018

In 2017, a contest occurred at the Kappa chapter of Zeta Beta Tau at Cornell University. New members of the fraternity were encouraged to sleep with women in order to earn “points” in a game that older members referred to as a “Pig Roast.” The hazing and offensive behavior of the chapter reached national headlines, and as a result of the actions of the fraternity, Cornell University placed the Kappa chapter on “Probationary Regulation” for two years.

To the Monmouth College Community,

Last week, discouraging media reports from the Kappa Chapter at Cornell University came to our attention that a group of men participated in activities that degraded women. We were disgusted that this behavior took place. These actions are not acceptable and go against everything that Zeta Beta Tau stands for. The Delta Lambda Chapter here at Monmouth College does not stand for these kinds of actions and do not support them in any way.

Zeta Beta Tau was founded with dedication to building safe and inclusive areas to not only the general membership, but also those outside the fraternity. We have committed ourselves to not pledge members and empower members to action by confronting another brother when they are in wrong. We encourage brothers to build healthy relationships with people inside and outside the organization.

The Delta Lambda chapter is taking the recent news seriously and will be providing programs to our brothers these next few weeks to ensure we are living up to the standards we all took oath. We want to reassure the Monmouth College community that we do not support any of the actions that brothers of the Kappa Chapter participated in, nor were we involved in any way. As a chapter, we will continue to make efforts to be sure nothing like this happens here and hope that other chapters throughout the nation do the same.